BALLS !!!! It's Little Ricky!

"The idea is that the state doesn't have rights to limit individuals' wants and passions. I disagree with that. I think we absolutely have rights because there are consequences to letting people live out whatever wants or passions they desire."

"I love soup"

Amanda Jean

"Sorry. No soup for you."

"I love cookies"

Billy

"Drop that fucking cookie, Kid!  If it isn't for procreation, it ain't good"

"I love Jello"

Willy Jo

" I don't give a shit what Cosby says....you drop that goddam spoon right now!"

"We Love Pizza"

Kim, Akeesha, Sam and Emily

"Sorry.  If it is not for procreation, too fucking bad. No No No No!  Like that faggot Mick Jagger said, 'you can't always get what you want''

Santorum seems to know exactly how to regulate people.  That is not 'small government'.  It is not really conservatism... not Republican... not Libertarian.... it is just plain... nutty.

“This idea that people should be left alone, be able to do whatever they want to do…that is not how traditional conservatives view the world.”  Rick Santorum.

He wants, your cookies, soup, doughnuts, pizza..... and wants to regulate what you do in your bedroom.

But what if it was HIS nuts.... hmmmmmm

Oh Brother!

well, if you have seen one Republican debate, you've seen them all. And if you have seen them all.... you are a masochist. Or have a broken leg and a lost remote control..... or some such.  It is all vitriolic rhetoric.... and I try to pay it no mind.

So, anyways, I was looking at a small clip of one of them... I think it was in Iowa, whatever, but it reminded me of a photo my brother sent me....

I kinda liked the picture.  They are his chickens sitting out back by his pond.  He has raised free range chickens for years.  The eggs are good. He also grows his own apples and pears and kiwi, it is a good climate for fruit where he lives, in the far west corner of Washington State.  His wife is a field biologist for a Canadian/US fishery commission.  They home can their own tuna, salmon and halibut.  Make jams and jellies, press fruit juice. He has lived out there for almost 25 years... but it doesn't seem that long, or that faraway.  We talk weekly.  Sometimes more.  He has spent the last month recovering from ankle surgery so lately it is more. Growing quickly and playing basketball and football kind of screwed up his ankles.  But he was always my 'little brother'.

We shared a bedroom when we were kids.  He grew very rapidly.  Ended up 6'8".  Means I could not pick on him much. I remember being pissed off when Mom would try to get me to wear his hand me down clothes, they wouldn't fit and as I never got over 6',  it was kind of humiliating.

Uncle John

When he was living in Minneapolis.... he had some difficulties of the romance thingee.  My phone bill spiraled.  When he decided to move to Idaho, years ago, I rode west with him and his alcoholic parakeet.  Seriously.  The bird loved beer and tequila.  I remember having to push his pinto station wagon to the top of a pass in Montana.   When my son was six, and John was in Seattle, we toured the Olympic Peninsula and the San Juan Islands. Slept on top of mountains and beaches, sans tent.  Tents are for weaklings, he believed. He has a voice that rather rumbles up to you with the tenor of a dump truck spitting down a gravel road.  We called him Lurch because of that.  He taught me how to brew beer and learn what good beer really was.  He also made Mead and wine.... but his beer was the best.

He called me this morning.  Wished me a 'happy valentines day.'
He is that kind of guy.

I love him, too.

Grok

“I am free, no matter what rules surround me. If I find them tolerable, I tolerate them; if I find them too obnoxious, I break them. I am free because I know that I alone am morally responsible for everything I do.”

 

robert heinlein

Holy Bat-Shitz-Crazy-Man.... it that a snake in your pocket... or....

ARE YOU JUST HAPPY TO SEE ME.
Wow... a funny thing happened.... see, I was just sitting around, minding my own business, which, if you gotta know, doesn't take up much time, or really, see, like, no time at all... but anywayz... I checked into this Blog, see, one that talks alot of politics, peace, dollar values, Republicans, what kind of jewelry Kim Kardashian might have in her navel and other esoteric thoughts.  Nice place, really.

But the blog owner has a troll.  Well, a few, to be true.  But one is just, well, the kind who will take a topic, any topic, and runaway with it.  If the blog owner would post a recipe for peach cobbler this Troll, in a relatively civil fashion, would opine that apricots were a superior fruit and all of the apricots in America are threatened by invasive Almond trees being planted by a nefarious gang of illegal Norwegian immigrants.... none of whom have Red, white, or BLUE CARDS to say nothing of GREEN.  Gees & shit, he would venture forth, it is all a liberal plot fostered by that No Good nig black guy in the White House of Shame& Mirrors.

Ok.. he is pretty much on the right wing side of life, which really ain't no big deal or nothing, just saying, but I kind of get the impression, from reading his comments, that he thinks Genghis Khan was a pretty good 'job creator' and maybe we should have that kind of leadership now.  Ok, I don't want to paint the wrong picture here. I'm guessing he is a nice guy and changes his underwear at least weekly.

So.... this is what breaks me up......and I will get to the snakes, just hold on.

What the topic was, on this here blog that I am talking about... and please, keep this straight...The BLOG OWNER is a kindly, astute thinker.... remember... we are talking about the semi-troll or whatever he is .... so the blog owner puts up a conversational question, more or less, " Is the current crop of Republican candidates truly idiots or are they cheap conniving weasly fucks"  Ok.. I paraphrased but I think that was the fair and balanced and unbiased opinion.  Well, gosh, before you knew it the thread has taken a right turn at this fellows third gonad *he truly has a lotta balls* and the next thing he is talking, the Troll, about how if the Communist Burmese invaded the USA, why gosh he would just cinch up his GI Joe camouflage g-string right on up his but crack to where the pleasure button of his resides and gosh.... he would kick some ass and all he would need to know is if those Burma gooks was bringing rice or noodles with them!!!

Boy... those Burmese ! Gees.... who do they thiink they are.

The game laws
Ought to
Let you shoot
The bird who hands you
A substitute
Burma-Shave



Well, gosh....  So where that left off was something like, 'well, gee, if the Burmese do invade we are all hoping that Canada counter invades and gets rid of the Terrorist Burmese cause it would be much better with Canadian Freedom Fighters, I mean, Canada sure has let us have a bunch of good comedians and folk singers and what not'.  Something like that.

BUT.... get this!  The Burmese ARE invading.... those goddam snakes!!

 Yesirree Bob!  Big Ones! In Florida!  Well it was a peachy-keen article and I enjoyed reading it and Shit&Whiskers.. you can too.  All right... I thought that was neat.... how that one little blog post lead me to Burmese Pythons !  I tell you.... it is a wonderful world.  So.. anyways, they want to ban the snakes, make it illegal to transport them. eradicate them, only let the gay males marry... or at least try
to clean up this, ah, slithery situation.

But then... and this is what breaks me up.... some 'pet retailers' are upset, because,,,,, it would infringe on their rights and..... hehehe cost jobs!

NO SHIT. read it here   Honestly!  Why gosh.... first dem liberals wanna regulate snakes.... next thing you know.... them is gonna wanna regulate Trouser Snakes!

Now this was really breaking me up.... see, it seems that python skins can fetch up to $200 a piece... and gosh the economy gets a boost.... so, this is it?  Invasive pythons are job creators and you can get $200 for it's skin........ but undocumented immigrants are not welcome? Is this how a Rednicker thinks..."well gosh, if Hispanics created jobs and you could get $200 for a Wetback Hide... well it would be different then!"  Somehow something is out of kilter. THINGS are weird... and I am not sure if we aren't all nutz....and evil... and the only honest among us is the evil Norwegian Almond farmers

I guess it just goes to show you, what a wonderful world the widdle  wide web is.... you can be talk politicualize smart one moment and the next thing you know.......... you got python pants.

You think I'm making this up!??
Well, it's Ground Hogs Day.  Didn't see my shadow. The Python ate it.  Six more weeks of Bullshit.
Gotzta go walk my snake.

SQUATLO RANT: KNOXVILLE RESTAURANT REFUSES TO SERVE HOMOPHOBIC S...

SQUATLO RANT: KNOXVILLE RESTAURANT REFUSES TO SERVE HOMOPHOBIC S...: Sen. Stacey "Hungry Hungry Hypocrite" Campfield... I've written recently of the troglodyte state Senator from Knoxvill...

Republicans say the cutest things.....

Gees, I thought she was gone.... or at least gone from the airwaves.  But Fux licks her, ah, likes her... and being the good attention whore that she is, she sucks and then spits it out... the garbage.

“Both party machines and many in the media are trying to crucify Newt Gingrich for bucking the tide and bucking the establishment."

Course, Newt might get off on it.... with his next mistress.... and if the cross was made at Tiffany's....
and the she spits out more garbage scraps..... she lauds Newtea's .... experience oh gees... reminds me of a poem..

Sarah Cynthia Sylvia Stout  Palin

Would not take spit the garbage out!

She'd scour the pots and scrape the pans,

Candy the yams and spice the hams,

And though her daddy would scream and shout,

She simply would not take spit the garbage out.

And so it piled up to the ceilings:

Coffee grounds, potato peelings,

Brown bananas, rotten peas,

Chunks of sour cottage cheese.

It filled the can, it covered the floor,

It cracked the window and blocked the door

With bacon rinds and chicken bones,

Drippy ends of ice cream cones,

Prune pits, peach pits, orange peel,

Gloppy glumps of cold oatmeal,

Pizza crusts and withered greens,

Soggy beans and tangerines,

Crusts of black burned buttered toast,

Gristly bits of beefy roasts. . .

The garbage rolled on down the hall,

It raised the roof, it broke the wall. . .

Greasy napkins, cookie crumbs,

Globs of gooey bubble gum,

Cellophane from green baloney,

Rubbery blubbery macaroni,

Peanut butter, caked and dry,

Curdled milk and crusts of pie,

Moldy melons, dried-up mustard,

Eggshells mixed with lemon custard,

Cold french fries and rancid meat,

Yellow lumps of Cream of Wheat.......

-Shel Silverstein

 
(we need)"..somebody with that experience plus somebody who has struggled personally and overcome struggles and challenges "-Sarah Palin

the collected wisdom of S Palin

I am sure that two divorces and a resignation in disgrace were all significant challenges... shit &whiskers!  The woman will not shut up!

I need another cup of coffee..

oh oh oh ... gimmee a break or gimmee a beer, but don't gimmee more of that garbage!

. 

in other vegetable new....

Mitt Broccoli calls for more hollandaise measures  and Rick Santorum asks for Celery caps... but stricly between consenting christian married cupolas of the same sex, made from non-union labor and for procreation purposes only.

"

Oh.... the thrill of weather proofing & trimming one's beard

Well.... the weather of late has been wet, snowy,slushy, puddly, and well, gosh... it was time to oil up the old boots.

So I got out the saddle soap, cleaned up well, brushed them out, dry them and rubbed in some mink oil.  Should be good for a bit.

Been getting into reading old books.  Found a copy of Robert Heinlein's "Stranger in a Strange Land".... the author's edition, not what was edited for publication in the 60's.  Still a good read.

Listening to old music too.  Dylan's "John Wesley Harding"  old 'Return to Forever'.
It is kinda like taking and old soul, mine, and adding some TLC ... and mink oil, just to keep everying pliable and water repellent.

Had a few drinks with the friday afternoon crowd at Oblio's yesterday.  Nick was back from his trip to Florida, on the job, working on boat motors.  Had a bit of sun color on his forehead.  Said it was in the 80's.  Al & Katie stopped.  I still want to steal his South Side Ice Yacht club jacket.  I think he is starting to take me serious and will not remove it in my presence.  Katie said she will bring nut bread next week.  Joe is walking more... said he has twenty lbs he would like to lose now that he is retired.  Cool said he could lose 180 if he could lose me.  Cool is a funny guy.

Went to the Moon this morning for coffee.  Aaron's wife was entertaining her two year old.  She played peek-a-boo with me for a bite.  The laughter of children is the fresh air that streams serene from tall mountains. It was good.

The Jambalaya art collective was having a rummage/art sale to raise some money to pay the heat bill.  Got a couple of neat framed prints, some candles and a funky ceramic clown.  All of it for under  $30.  A deal.

And now the day goes on.  Must trim the beard.  It gets thick and wolly in neglect, as do all things.

I remember when it was all black. Or maybe I remember.  Perhaps I should use mink oil instead of Hair Color for Men.



.... and then again.....

Obama Sings ! & Republicans are poetic!

 Yupperz..... Obama CAN sing.... course ... so can I !  Well, mostly in the shower, see, and since the divorce (well, even a bit before the dovice, dorice, deeforce... whatever) I mostly showered alone, so my eloquent vocal renditions were mostly lost on a general public.  Now, I could rectify that, maybe, ya know, put a video on you-tube or something... but then it would not be a genial public to say nothing of a general public.

Anyways... I still do that and it does get the cockroaches out of the apartment for awhile and so I will keep it up.

I also was once of a mind to compose poetry in the shower.... OH, but the paper got really wet and the pen didn't work well and if I got stuck on a line or whatever and stayed in the shower overly long... why gosh& stuff, my toes would get all wrinkly and gees, I would often run out of hot water, cause see, it would sometimes take me awhile to find rhyming words... ( hey, go ahead,,, YOU find a rhyme for Zucchini real quick, huh.. and I don't just mean eenie-meanie, ok!!)
Well....anyways... this got me to thinking... I mean about Obama singing and poetry and whatever-ish.... that there was once a prominent Republican that was well noted for his..............

Yessirre bob.... I mean it!  Now this may be old stuff... but it is still GOOD stuff... so with out further adios or adoos or whatever.... I bring you.... some select poety, poetry of former Defense Secretary Donal Rumsfeld..... (and hey, with a name like Rumsfeld, youse gotzta be GOOD!

The Unknown

 As we know,
There are known knowns.
There are things we know we know.
We also know
There are known unknowns.
That is to say
We know there are some things
We do not know.
But there are also unknown unknowns,
The ones we don't know
We don't know.

—Feb. 12, 2002, Department of Defense news briefing

Glass Box 

 You know, it's the old glass box at the—
At the gas station,
Where you're using those little things
Trying to pick up the prize,
And you can't find it.
It's—

And it's all these arms are going down in there,
And so you keep dropping it
And picking it up again and moving it,
But—

Some of you are probably too young to remember those—
Those glass boxes,
But—

But they used to have them
At all the gas stations
When I was a kid.
—Dec. 6, 2001, Department of Defense news briefing

A Confession

 Once in a while,
I'm standing here, doing something.
And I think,
"What in the world am I doing here?"
It's a big surprise.

—May 16, 2001, interview with the New York Times

Happenings

You're going to be told lots of things.
You get told things every day that don't happen.

It doesn't seem to bother people, they don't—
It's printed in the press.
The world thinks all these things happen.
They never happened.

Everyone's so eager to get the story
Before in fact the story's there
That the world is constantly being fed
Things that haven't happened.

All I can tell you is,
It hasn't happened.
It's going to happen.

The Digital RevolutionOh my goodness gracious,
What you can buy off the Internet
In terms of overhead photography!

A trained ape can know an awful lot
Of what is going on in this world,
Just by punching on his mouse
For a relatively modest cost!

—June 9, 2001, following European trip

The Situation

Things will not be necessarily continuous.
The fact that they are something other than perfectly continuous
Ought not to be characterized as a pause.
There will be some things that people will see.
There will be some things that people won't see.
And life goes on.

—Oct. 12, 2001, Department of Defense news briefing

Clarity

 I think what you'll find,
I think what you'll find is,
Whatever it is we do substantively,
There will be near-perfect clarity
               As to what it is.

And it will be known,
And it will be known to the Congress,
And it will be known to you,
Probably before we decide it,
               But it will be known.

—Feb. 28, 2003, Department of Defense briefing

 ...... next... the collected meatloaf recipes of Mitt Romney

A Throng of thousands (give or take the invisible snowmen)

Sometimes I try to watch the news on Sunday mornings.  Try.  It is tough.  Today I watched a clip of Rick saying, and this may not be totally accurate, "that we need a candidate that will fight the junk science of global warming."

Last year, the former Pennsylvania senator earned $142,500 for his work as a consultant for Consol Energy, according to FactCheck.org.

.

Sheesh.... mostly he was just ranting and raving .  So I turned the channel.   Caught another show that had about four people talking over each other and spewing some shit about Newt being ahead.... I guess they meant he was ahead of Rick.  Kinda makes me think of a race where a banana is ahead of the grapefruit.

So I checked another channel.  Just missed a 'Golden Girl' rerun.  At that point I thought I would mosey on out and get a coffee at the Moon and read some news.  Newspapers do not scream at you.

Throngs of hundreds supporting Walker

There was a nifty ARTICLE about 'over a thousand' rallying to support neo-Fascist Fuehrer GOVERNOR Scott Walker.  I guess that was a good crowd after the Recall supporters turned in petitions of over 1.2 million asking for his removal from office.

I guess it must have been a good rally, probably made more entertaining because..... the governor was not there!  

The guy breaks me up.


Walker reminds me alot of Santorum...with one notable exception.... Santorum is not afraid to say stupid shit..... where as Walker IS a stupid shit who doesn't say anything.

Still have a couple of hours until the football games start.  Maybe I can find a 'Golden Girls' rerun yet.  Or I do have Bob Newhart on DVD.  Bob always helped me get in touch with my feelings.

49'ers over the Giants by ten.

home made commie pinko socialist music that I ripped off from the internet

.

... old video from the New Moon coffee house... just to show I go other places than bars

So..... how cold is it?

well it is colder than I care for.  A deep freeze has set in here in my part of the world.  Below zero stuff with stupidly cold wind chills. O course, if I want to be really chilled I need to do more than listen to a politician, local or otherwise.
 There is a chill to the rhetoric that smacks me up side the head.... as ... cold.  Stark raving cold... and mean... unnecessarily so.

But that is not the story.
The Deal is I walked outside the coffee house this morning.  The Moon is a such a cool place that it is warm.... nicely so.  I did not notice her coming up behind me... and I could barely hear her when she said, "Excuse me.  You know this address?" ... and showed me a piecce of paper.  It was funeral home stationery with a church address handwritten on it.  The lady was about 4' 8" if she was an inch, Hmong, all bundled up. She appeared to be in her 70's and was bundled up so you could barely see her face. "Friend funeral. I must go."  You could tell English was not her first language.  I looked at the address and knew the church was about two miles away.  The bus station was two blocks.  I told her that the bus would take her within a block of the church.  " No money.  How far? I walk."  It was 3 below zero.  "C'mon," I said...." I'll get you the bus."
" No money! no bus."
Well I guess I got it through to her that she didn't need money. I also got enough out of her that she would know family at the church and could get a ride home.  We got to the bus station, I found the right bus, told the driver where she needed to go and put the buck in the collection box.  He said he would make sure she got off at the right block and he would show her the church.  She sat in the front and looked straight ahead.  Didn't say thank you. Old Asian women usually do not go out by themselves.  She was a bit scared, I think, and was going to the funeral of a friend.

Now, it wasn't a big deal and I am no goddam hero or stuff.... it was only a two block walk and a buck.

It really can be done.  Just saying.

LESS Government regulation?

... just a first step to stop the dissemination of information.... buy "US THE PEOPLE"

... another example of how RepubliCorporates want 'LESS' government regulation.

OK.... first off.... I am not the smartest person in the world.  Never said so.  Never will.
But to me this just smacks of again fixing something that is not really broke.  Will it increase corporate profits?

Corporate$

of course.... in the future I may not be able to post that link.... in the future... you may not be able to even find information on the NET about SOPA or PIPA.... so ... do it now while you can.

in other news....

WTF ! Packers !

That was the poorest performance by a 15-1 team that I have ever seen.  Pathetic.  Truly the better team..... at least yesterday... did win.

I will get over it.  See, I like football... but I am mostly a Packer Fan... and from there I go to NFC North Division, then the NFC in general.  I cannot and will not watch football all day.... nope.

But I grew up here...amongst the cows and cheese and beer... and the low rolling hills and the jack-pine forests and the little lakes and streams and rivers and the Packers just kind of grow on you like anything else.  The only team in the NFL that is owned by the public.  The smallest town in the NFL.  One of the most storied stadiums in the nation.

OK...... I was hoping for two more games.  Ain't happening.  I'll live.  And, OH.... there is plenty else going on... Recall elections and.......... hmmmmm lemmmee see.... what else goes on in Wisconsin in the winter?

I will get back to you on that.  Once I get over the goddam Packers blowing it.

WHAT A STORY !!!!!

Some times there are stories that are almost impossible to believe.  This is one of them.

In 1986, Peter Davies was on holiday in Kenya after graduating from Northwestern University.

On a hike through the bush, he came across

a young bull elephant standing with one leg

raised in the air. The elephant seemed

distressed, so Peter approached it very

carefully.

He got down on one knee, inspected the

elephants foot, and found a large piece of

wood deeply embedded in it. As carefully

and as gently as he could, Peter worked the

wood out with his knife, after which the

elephant gingerly put down its foot.

The elephant turned to face the man, and

with a rather curious look on its face, stared

at him for several tense moments. Peter

stood frozen, thinking of nothing else but

being trampled. Eventually the elephant

trumpeted loudly, turned, and walked away.

Peter never forgot that elephant or the events of

that day. Twenty years later, Peter was walking

through the Chicago Zoo with his teenaged son.

As they approached the elephant enclosure, one

of the creatures turned and walked over to near

where Peter and his son Cameron were standing.

The large bull elephant stared at Peter, lifted its

front foot off the ground, then put it down. The

elephant did that several times then trumpeted

loudly, all the while staring at the

man.

Remembering the encounter in 1986, Peter

could not help wondering if this was the same

elephant. Peter summoned up his courage, climbed

over the railing, and made his way into the

enclosure. He walked right up to the elephant

and stared back in wonder. The elephant

trumpeted again, wrapped its trunk around one of

Peter legs and slammed him against the railing,

killing him instantly.

Probably wasn't the same elephant.

via email from my buddy Dimly Lit who loves a bad joke as much as I do

My Daughter, partially college educated.

OK.... you are going to do what?
Jump in the Lake.
What?
Jump in the Lake.
Does your mother know?
Maybe... not sure if I told her.
Best tell her.
Dad, it's for charity... Special Olympics.
Ya, you freeze off some parts and you will BE in Special Olympics.
So how much will you give to sponsor me?
What?
I raise $75 and I get a T-shirt.
A $75 T-shirt?  I can get you a Oblio's shirt for ten bucks!
Dad !!! it's not the same!  
Damn straight it ain't!
Everyone's doing it!
Ya, Like who?
Kelsey and Lauren and Morgan and Emile and Dorrie... and ...
Whoa,,,, I didn't know you had so many dumb friends!
Dad !!!!!

miriam and kelsey

So it turns out that The Kid's friend, Kelsey, came up with the idea.  Or so The Kid says.  Kelsey and Miriam and a small group of students spent a semester in Europe about a year or so ago.  They became close friends. Yadda, Yadda..... Kelsey, in search of scholarship money, entered the 'Miss Oshkosh' pageant...and to cut to the chase, is NOW Miss Oshkosh.

So the event is to raise money for Special Olympics.... they cut a hole in the ice...we have a big frozen lake that is handy. and you jump in to raise money.  Fun, huh? Well to make it more FUNNER... they are going to go to a thrift store, buy old prom dresses, call it the Miss IceKosh pageant and jump in the frozen water.  See, a college education is very thought enhancing!

yup, Dad, we are going to make sashes... and tiara's  and wear high heels and....
Sounds like a lot of work.
Dad!
Why don't you just put ice cubes in the bathtub?
Dad!

So I miss this element of 'fun'. Frankly, my idea of Winter fun would be to sitting in front of a fire, a football game on TV, some chili on the stove...

oh, we will have a party later.
Really?
Sure, after we dry off.
Will that involve booze?
Of course!
Hot Apple Schnaaps!
Is there such a thing?
There will be!!!

..... see.... girls just wanna have fun...... whadda I know?????

Snowfall

Web photo

It was enough, the snow.  I haven't heard 'the official' count, but I'm guessing about eight inches in the last 24 hours. Last night there was enough wind to create a few white-out conditions but all in all, not that bad.  We have had much worse and will again, I'm sure.  Me?  This stuff sucks and I don't mind saying so, but who pays attention to me?

Max called last night.... about a friend of his... had I heardabout Charlotte?  Do you know what happened? Can you find out?  You know her, right?

Charley and the Cynics

Charlotte was 22.  She will never be 23.  She was a waitress at a pizza joint where Max and I used to watch the Packer Games.  She was a local girl and, like Max, went to the local University.  They knew a lot of the same people.... a smallish clique of film/art/music students.  I knew a bunch of them.... really good kids.  Charlotte, mostly from the Pizza joint.  I certainly was not up late enough to catch the band she fronted, "Charley and the Cynics", nor do I longer hang out in loud rock&roll bars. Max, other folks said that thy were good.

No one knows, right now, what happened.  She talked with a friend in the morning and when she didn't show up at the Pizza joint they went looking for her and ....... So far, drugs or alcohol do not seem to be an issue ....  Max is a little stunned.  " How can you talk with someone and two weeks later, they're dead?"  Death to him is still something that happens old people.  Certainly not to gifted and talented young people

We talked.... or rather I listened.

I didn't have any answers. And he really wasn't asking questions.
This stuff sucks and I don't mind saying so, but who pays attention to me?